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Fishermen who frequent South Watuppa Pond in Westport and Fall River should not eat their catch more than once every two months. Same goes for Long Pond in Lakeville and Freetown. 

That’s according to a set of new Massachusetts Department of Public Health fish advisories for those waters, which were instituted earlier this summer. 

They were triggered by a 2023 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection report that found high concentrations of PFAS in fish tissue samples. PFAS are the so-called “forever chemicals” that have been linked to cancers and birth defects. 

The fish tissue samples from Long and South Watuppa Ponds were above DPH’s action level of 0.22 parts per billion. The action level, based on federal guidance, “represents the amount of chemical that an individual can be exposed to every day without experiencing adverse health effects.” 

Fishermen also should not eat fish from Mary’s Pond in Marion and Rochester, nor Sawdy Pond in Westport and Fall River, due to mercury. 

Fish advisories are state public health guidance, and are not legally enforced. No restrictions have been recommended on recreational activities like swimming, boating or catch-and-release fishing. 

Ripples form on the surface of South Watuppa Pond in Fall River in August. Credit: Adam Goldstein / New Bedford Light

PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of chemicals that have been used in manufacturing consumer goods since the 1950s. The chemicals are composed of strong bonds that give products stain-resistant, water-resistant and non-stick properties. They are found in products like rain jackets and cookware.

PFAS spread easily through the environment, and the strong chemical bonds that make them useful do not break down easily. Exposures to small doses of certain PFAS are associated with changes in liver, kidney, and immune-system function. They have also been linked to developmental effects in children.

Sources of PFAS contamination in the environment can include firefighting foams, discharges from industrial facilities, landfills, septic systems, and wastewater treatment facilities. 

PFAS contamination is emerging as a public health problem across Massachusetts. When introduced to aquatic ecosystems, PFAS can build up in the marine food chain, threatening human and environmental health.

So MassDEP began a multi-year study in 2022 of “the nature and extent of PFAS contamination in surface water and in edible tissues of freshwater fish from rivers and lakes.” 

Over the summer and fall 2022, MassDEP researchers sampled fish from 47 sites across the state for 40 kinds of PFAS. They focused on sampling popular fishing spots near known sources of PFAS and environmental justice populations, including South Watuppa and Long Ponds. 

MassDEP found PFAS concentrations in fish tissue samples were above DPH action levels in all but one of the water bodies they sampled — the Deerfield River. Higher levels of the chemicals were detected in fish from waters near known or suspected sources of PFAS — including South Watuppa and Long Ponds. 

MassDEP also identified five water bodies as potential sources of public drinking water that had levels of PFAS in surface water above existing Massachusetts standards (and federal standards). This includes South Watuppa Pond, which is an emergency drinking water supply for Fall River. 

MassDEP is identifying potential responsible parties for major PFAS pollution in drinking water sources. The polluters will be required to “assess the extent of the release” and clean it up, according to an agency spokesperson. 

Fall River authorities say that there is no transfer of water nor fish between South Watuppa Pond and North Watuppa Pond — its main source of public drinking water. PFAS concentrations in samples of raw and treated water from North Watuppa Pond taken in 2020 and 2023, respectively, were below state and federal thresholds. 

Long Pond and other Assawompset Pond Complex waters are the primary source of drinking water to New Bedford. The city has been monitoring these ponds for PFAS contamination for years, a city spokesperson said, and has found that levels of PFAS in raw and treated water are below “actionable levels.” 

New Bedford draws its water from Little Quittacas Pond on the other side of the complex, “about as far away from Long Pond as you can get,” the spokesperson said. The city has purchased and protected large tracts of lands around the other four ponds in the complex to safeguard the drinking water supply.  

MassDEP’s report “indicates that the greatest PFAS risk (in sampled waters) appears to be fish consumption,” said the MassDEP spokesperson. The agency is now looking into PFAS contamination in fish from marine and coastal areas. 

DPH has put out new PFAS-related fish advisories for 46 bodies of water throughout Massachusetts. 

An agency spokesperson said that while there is no existing policy for rescinding fish advisories, they “may be updated as new information becomes available that changes our understanding of the relationship between exposure to PFAS and the potential for human health effects.” 

Local health authorities have posted information about the advisories on their website, and installed signs at boat ramps to inform the public, at the request of DPH. That work was completed in late May and June. 

Lakeville health agent Edward Cullen said he sees the state’s PFAS fish advisory for Long Pond “like a warning label on a pack of cigarettes.”

“Just because it’s fresh and from a beautiful lake, it doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful,” he said. “That’s the message they’re trying to get out, and we’re helping them get that message out.”

Email environmental reporter Adam Goldstein at agoldstein@newbedfordlight.org.